Todoroki's Preferences
by PixieRed
Summary: Heights Alliance move-in day prompts Todoroki to examine his preferences.


Todoroki Shouto just wanted to go to sleep. He had spent all day working on his dorm room. It was night by the time he finished.

It was just like UA to turn something like move-in day into training. The room he had been given was unfinished. Most likely it was meant to simulate rescue and repair work. Shouto had to make up for his lack of experience with videos on his phone and hard work. He didn't go to sleep, however. Instead, he wandered down to the common area in case Aizawa-sensei had another assignment. The teacher was absent, but Ashido and Hagakure were forcing everyone into a class-wide room competition. They insisted Shouto participate.

It would be easier to just go along. Maybe these community exercises weren't such a bad thing anyway.

The class took their time with the first few rooms. Shouto wondered if it would take all night. Each room was different but they all blended together. All had avoided major alterations. The most anyone had done was add shelving. No wonder they could still be so energetic. Strangely they didn't seem to mind the unfinished state of their rooms.

Kaminari's room was next. Inside, Yaoyorozu was examining the haphazard collection of objects lining his walls. Shouto remembered he had not yet thanked her for her help earlier. He had discovered the lighting fixture he had purchased was short a piece. Going to her first had saved him a trip.

"Yaoyorozu," Shouto walked over to her. She turned to him. Eyes growing wide, she seemed startled. He continued. "Thank you for the screw earlier."

Yaoyorozu exhaled. Her lips formed a broad smile. Her cheeks plumped, forcing her eyes to form crescents. "My pleasure!"

Loud coughing and hacking could be heard over the background chatter. It sounded bad, like someone had choked on a drink. Judging by the height of its source, it was probably Mineta.

"Are you okay?!" It sounded like Shouji was coming to Mineta's aid. There was no need for Shouto to act.

The next several rooms passed quickly. The class had fallen into a routine. Shouto was thankful. It would be over sooner.

With the exception of Shouji, everyone had a lot of things. None of them had significantly altered their room.

"Next is Todoroki-san, right?" Yaoyorozu's voice calling his name broke Shouto from his thoughts. He had forgotten his room was coming. He had been focused on just making it through. Once they were done, he could go to sleep.

The reaction to Shouto's room was noisy.

"A Japanese-style room!" "Was his made differently?"

Shouto didn't see why everyone had to get so excited and loud. He hadn't realized his preferences were so different. Was it strange to have a Japanese-style room in _Japan?_ He had always had one. Had no one else? Why would his house be so different?

The answer was obvious. How did he not realize?

Japanese-style was Shouto's _father's_ preference.

Shouto felt a tug, an instinct, to tear down all his earlier work. It was something his father liked. It was something his father wanted. His hands balled into fists at his sides.

But... Shouto didn't like the thought of any other room he could imagine either.

 _It's your power, isn't it?!_

Shouto let his hands go slack. Maybe it didn't matter where his preferences came from.

All his life Shouto was surrounded by traditional imagery. The house. The decor. Family photos. He looked down at his left hand. Maybe it was a part of who he was.

An old memory surfaced. Shouto remembered sitting in his mother's lap, looking through his father's ancestral photos. The album was devoted to important events. Weddings. Births. Funerals. Auspicious anniversaries. His mother explained all the unfamiliar clothing to him. She pointed to a wedding photo. She told him one day there would be photos like that of him. He had liked the idea until he realized it wouldn't look right with his strange bi-colored hair.

Shouto's hair was the first thing strangers would point out. It was like there was something wrong with him. The saving grace for young Shouto was that his father liked his hair. That ended when he understood why.

When young Shouto played, he would sometimes forget he looked different from everyone else. He would stop when he realized he was doing it. He would remind himself. _Oh. I'm not like that._

It only got worse once his quirk manifested. Then Shouto's father would remind him again and again that he was different. _  
_

Shouto thought back to the photos. He always stood out. His father looked close to traditional with the right lighting. The traditional clothing completed the look. His mother, Fuyumi, and Natsuo at least looked normal. The age of quirks had brought with it hyper-pigmentation. It was uncommon to find people who matched the traditional aesthetic.

"Well, I think I miscalculated..." The class had reached Yaoyorozu's room.

 _Oh. That's right._ Yaoyorozu would look like she belonged in any traditional photo. Black hair. Black eyes. Fair Skin. Smart. Graceful. Even the traditional garments would suit her well.

Yaoyorozu's room was the last. Shouto could go to sleep soon.

The class returned to the common area. The competition would come to a vote. Hagakure passed out slips of paper. Ashido walked around with a ballot box. Shouto wrote his own name down and folded the slip in half.

"Here is my vote," Yaoyorozu dropped her folded slip in the box. Ashido replied with an enthusiastic thank you. They were standing near Shouto. He looked up. As usual, Yaoyorozu only pulled half her ponytail through her elastic. The result was thick shocks of hair shooting upwards. They reached above him before gravity overcome their tensile strength. He followed them from their tips back to her head. It wasn't only her hair...

Shouto thought back to the photos. It didn't match.

 _Hmm._

Shouto thought about his brothers. He thought about his father. He thought about what they had learned in class about human health.

By the time Shouto came to a conclusion, Yaoyorozu was sitting with Jirou by the coffee table. He walked over to her.

"Yaoyorozu." Just as she turned to him, Shouto looked her squarely in the eyes. "I'm going to get taller."

Yaoyorozu stared. She blinked twice. Finally, she smiled. "I'm sure you will!"

Shouto gave a single nod. He turned and walked towards Midoriya and Iida. They were gathering with the others. It would be over soon. He could finally go to sleep.

––––– ––––– –––––

Jirou Kyouka brought her fingers to her lips to keep herself from laughing at Todoroki's drive-by declaration. As he walked off, Momo watched him go, still wearing that same polite smile she used when meeting with new people or dignitaries.

"I guess even Todoroki-san has some things he's insecure about," Momo said as she turned back to Kyouka.

"Indeed." Kyouka raised her eyebrows and grinned.

* * *

Author's Note: New fandom for me. Hopefully I'm not just re-treading what's already been done. This is a bit of an experiment on the road to something longer. I'm not entirely certain with Todoroki's voice yet.

Many thanks to NierVille on AO3 for the pre-read/beta. All problems are from me not heeding his advice. :)

Thanks to fencer29 for pointing out I forgot Fuyumi! How could I? I added her back in.

Originally uploaded 2018/08/02


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